Retirees facing lean future

Kiwis will have to work longer and be paid less in retirement, Treasury has warned the Government in a sobering report about the fiscal state of the nation.

Soaring Crown debt and an ageing population mean the country cannot afford to maintain current New Zealand Superannuation (NZS) entitlement.

Treasury proposes increasing the age of eligibility to 67 from 2017 as well as indexing the entitlement to 1 per cent above inflation instead of the average wage - an effective payment drop.

Both Prime Minister John Key and Opposition finance spokesman David Cunliffe are promising to keep superannuation as it is, but Mark Brighouse, managing director of Brook Asset Management, says the current Government won't be the one that makes the decision.

"Reassurances are not a helpful message for New Zealanders in their 40s who have time to address their situation if they are given the facts."